why do pros aim so low on the cue ball at cue ball address???

J

judochoke

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have noticed that most pros will start their shot process with the cue tip very very low on the cue ball. almost Hitting the felt. are they doing this to find center cue ball, or are they starting out that low and moving up a tip or so at cue delivery????

I have been messing around with this, and on long straight shots, (4 or 5 feet), I'm getting a really nice stop shot hitting that low. I use a very small backstroke, maybe 3 inches, and stroke. is this a good way to set up????? thanks for any input.
 
I don't have the table time to get into my actual routine these days - minutes vs hours if that BUT I will aim a variety of shots into the cloth just to set the stick vector in my mind and arm. I do this on that break as well for enhanced results. IOW I aim low to set the line but as a result of the standup swing, the tip will hit high. I can watch the headball (the only shot I always watch the object ball) and smack the rack wide open. Usually nothing goes in but it leaves an even distribution. You don't want to break in this manner against players but in my case I routinely have to share the table with drunk veteran novices.
 
judochoke said:
I have noticed that most pros will start their shot process with the cue tip very very low on the cue ball. almost Hitting the felt. are they doing this to find center cue ball, or are they starting out that low and moving up a tip or so at cue delivery????

I have been messing around with this, and on long straight shots, (4 or 5 feet), I'm getting a really nice stop shot hitting that low. I use a very small backstroke, maybe 3 inches, and stroke. is this a good way to set up????? thanks for any input.
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In my opinion, if you want to hit center ball on the cb, and you aim center cb, your tip can wander slightly off center,and you might not notice it, but if you aim center bottom you will easily notice if the tip wanders off.
 
judochoke said:
I have noticed that most pros will start their shot process with the cue tip very very low on the cue ball. almost Hitting the felt. are they doing this to find center cue ball, or are they starting out that low and moving up a tip or so at cue delivery????

I have been messing around with this, and on long straight shots, (4 or 5 feet), I'm getting a really nice stop shot hitting that low. I use a very small backstroke, maybe 3 inches, and stroke. is this a good way to set up????? thanks for any input.
Click to expand...
I was told many years ago by a Pro Level player that he did it because the point where the cue ball touches cloth is true center and that it takes all guessing out of your contact point.
 
I see this a lot too, never quite understood it- I do aim where I intend to hit the CB from my opening warm up stroke- but many old timers pointed that cue tip down as well on their warm ups- just not sure why.
 
A tournament spectator once asked me why I do this and I was completely unaware that I was doing it at the time. I was doing it subconsciously, probably to get a better view of the cue ball, without the tip in the way, prior to the final strike. I don't believe I do it anymore, but I'm really not sure.
 
Always aim where you intend to hit.

Don't use what 1% of pros are perceived to do on camera as an excuse not to follow traditional advice. (Busta's circular practice strokes for example).
 
I’ve seen a few do this. I think this modern era of fundamentals robots will generally replace this practice in upcoming generations. I heard some players like to see the whole cueball for aiming. I heard some used to be secretive about their English use and would do this to obscure that.
 
maybe if you let the tip touch the cloth then raise it you are sort of indexing the movement upwards by some calibrated amount before the shot, the cloth being a starting point.
Personally i aim as if Im going to shoot the ball not change it up half way through. some players will let their tip touch the cloth, even to point at things or retrieve balls. I personally consider that to be in bad form to ever touch your tip to the cloth, It will no doubt bother the owner of the table. For pros, the cloth is changed a lot more often than at our local hangout.
a local racetracktrack owner wouldnt let me do circular burnouts in the
middle of the track but if I won a big race, it's on a different level..
 
Because it's easier than aiming with the top, which is the only other place that is true center of the cueball,,,,,,,,,,,, but pay more attention and you'll notice most of those shots dont top or reverse,,,,,,,,, because they don't actually hit it down there.
 
Can’t explain it, but copying that technique has seemed beneficial for me. Not so much a lowered contact point on the CB, as much as a slight ‘dipping‘ motion of the cue. Might have something to do with initially ‘sliding’, as opposed to ‘rolling’ the CB, thus making the exact contact point less critical (?).
(started after watching Ruslan win the 14.1 finals. Maybe, because being so tall, he has trouble keeping his cue level when following thru?)
 
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